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From: gene_peach@msn.com (Gene Peach)
To : <ussfloydbparks.org>
CC :
Date : Sat, 25 Oct 2003 00:00:35 -0500 (CDT)
Subject : Parks Shipmate
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Sam,
I too, have so many memories of that "tin Can".
The Floyd B. was my home for two years. (1970-72)
It's been over
thirty years and I can remember some of things
as though it was yesterday. I was quite a joker, and tried
to keep the
moral high in the "Deck Division".
One night I
got off watch at 2000 hours and went to our birthing compartment
and told everybody we were going to refuel the ship. BM1 COOPER
and BM1 SHELL jumped out there racks like wild fire had hit
the ship. They both had took off and I told everyone
else to go back and lay down, that I was only joking.
Well the joke
was on me. We did refuel the ship about three hours later.
Shell and Cooper came back and told all of us to get out of
our racks and get top side and set up the rigs. We all laughed
at them at that point. We all didn't believe those two guys
at all.
Needless to
say, I got one heck of a cursing from Shell and Cooper, and
I never tried that joke ever again.
I just thought
you might be interested to hear just one of my "old
memories" of the Floyd B. Parks. Thanks again shipmate
for the wonderful website.
SN Peach (1970-72)
From: "Bertran Williams"
<trebtap1@hotmail.com>
To : <ussfloydbparks.org>
CC :
Date : Mon, 27 Oct 2003 02:03:26 +0000
Subject : sea stories
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Sea Story
I was in the Parks during
1953-54.
We had just arrived off Korea,
I think the place was called Point Silver.
It was either xmas or new
years---the memory is a little vague here but it was one or
the other.
Back to the story, we had
just dropped anchor and the Skipper was waiting for the ship
to swing into the wind when suddenly there was a terrific
upheavel that shook the ship trememdously. I was in the after
machine shop where the "A" gang hangs out, well
I want to tell you that I wasn't in there very long,up that
short distance to the main deck by the after dual 5"
guns, seeing the tripod mast shaking like it was going to
uproot any second-------the truce was supposed to have been
signed, but thoughts came to my mind that we had been hit
by enemy fire. Of course it was signed. We had just anchored
on a pinnacle reef----uncharted.
To make a long story short,
we ran every pump on the ship including the handebillys. The
hoses were like spaghetti running all over the deck, and we
had quite a lot of water in the enginerooms------split seams-----we
didn't sink but we did get underway and head for Sasebo immediatley
and went into drydock for repairs.
M. Bertran P. Williams
From: Walter Soboleff <Walter_Soboleff@admin.state.ak.us>
Date : Mon, 03 Nov 2003 12:16:03 -0900
Subject : Re: Thank you for signing the Ship's Log
Seastories........
Gather around shipmates, THIS IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH.
Parks was on the way to Sydney Australia for some well earned
liberty, returning to CONUS after an arduous deployment. I
was on the Deck Force, SN.
It was Sunday morning, and for the
first time that cruise, THE FORCES-THAT-BE (BM1 Schell, BM1
Cooper, and BM1 Williford) allowed WD division holiday
routine. WOW, we were allowed to sleep in, if we weren't actually
on watch. Around 0900 or so the whole ship began to shake
and shudder violently, so
much so that we had to go DIW.
After the WD deckapes rigged an accomodation ladder, a diver
(LT Tom Burns Engineering Officer) was sent down. He found
a whole, twelve foot long blade on the starboard screw had
been sheared off, right at the hub. We made repairs on a AFDM
(floating drydock) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Heaven only knows where they got a
Gearing FRAM 1 propellor. We were so close to the equator
that the shellbacks had garbage squirreled all over the ship.
What a dissapointment to miss Sydney Australia for repairs
in Hawaii.. I remember the POD that day read "Screwed
out of Australia". I got over it, somehow.
Anyway, this is the Gospel truth.
Walter A. Soboleff Jr (ex-SK1 USN)
Juneau Alaska, USA
From: "Jim &
Linda McCulloch" <jimmc@widomaker.com> Save Address
| Headers
Date : Tue, 20 Jan 2004 15:25:10 -0500
Subject : Sea Stories
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As CO, I was always getting a call from CRUDESPAC asking if
we could perform a burial-at-sea on our next underway day.
Anyway one Monday after another burial service we all adjourned
to change out of our dress blues. I had called the OOD, LT
Tom Burns, and told him to proceed to our assigned area for
exercises. Shortly thereafter LT Burns called and ask me to
come to the bridge to show him where we were to go. This seemed
strange since our opareas were clearly shown in the training
oporder. Somewhat irritated, I told him I would be up as soon
as I got my uniform changed.
When I arrived on the bridge and opened the door there was
not one person to be seen in the pilothouse. My first thought
was that Tom had stopped the ship but when I looked the engine
order telegraph was showing "all ahead full." I
stepped out on the wing of the bridge and still no one in
sight and we were clearly making our 20kts. I can tell you
that was a strange sensation.
It turns out the entire watch team was on top of the pilot
house waiting for me to come to the bridge. Tom had sifted
steering control to after steering so we were still on course.
We worked hard but we had fun along the way. I have told that
story many times. Thanks Tom.
CAPTAIN
JAMES M. MCCULLOCH
From: Stoddries@aol.com
Reply-To:
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 18:44:46 EST
Dear Sam,
Years ago I found an old pewter mug
in a flea market or antique store (I
don't remember which) here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It is engraved:
Ens. R. H. Wintz, USNR
from
The Wardroom
USS Floyd B. Parks (DD884)
I found Robert Wintz in the Memorial.
I assume the mug was jettisoned from
his estate.
The mug sits next to me at my desk,
and I often pick it up and wonder who he
was, what he did, when he was in the service. Have you any
idea?
Thanks for your time,
Todd Ries, MD
Guerneville, CA
--------------------------------------------------
From: "keith knoblock"
<theknoblocks@worldnet.att.net> Save Address | Headers
To : <sam@star77.com>,<bnsbirdsong@mindspring.com>,
<Stoddries@aol.com>
CC : <sam@star77.com>,"Tony Allou" <mtallou@bellsouth.net>
Date : Sun, 15 Feb 2004 11:12:51 -0800
Subject : Re: EnsRHWintz
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Hi Sam,
Talk about a voice out of the past! Bob Wintz was on the Parks
when I came aboard in July 1959 in Hong Kong. He was the assistant
communications officer. As I recall, he was detached to shore
duty in Japan in 1960. Bob was a wonderful human being and
a good friend. We spent many fun hours together on liberty.
After Bob left the Navy he moved back to San Francisco where
he lived until his death in 1986. Bob and I remained in touch
and got together several times after our Navy days when our
business travels brought us together. Bob worked for Transamerica
in the insurance side of the company's business.
Tony Allou was a good friend of Bob and he may be able to
provide additional details about him.
Hope all is well with you. We continue to enjoy the great
work you do on the website.
Keith
Date : Mon, 12 Jul 2004 00:36:31 EDT
Subject : Fwd: The Events of the Fourth of July
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Dear Friends and Family,
What follows is a forward of an email
that I sent out earlier that relates to the events of the
Fourth of July here in Danville.
Nancy and I were able to sponsor an
entrant into our local Fourth of July Parade. The parade has
33 years of history and we have lived here for 32 years, so
we really enjoy the parade. This year's theme was "Honor
our Veterans, Home of the Brave". When I read that theme,
I immediately thought of the Gentleman that I worked for 40
years ago. He was the
Resident Engineer for the State of California on the new construction
of the
San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. I was a rookie engineer just cutting
my teeth.
The gentleman's name is Harry Reilich.
The significance of thinking of sponsoring Harry for the Danville
Fourth of July Parade is that Harry is a Survivor of the Bataan
Death March!!!
Harry, at age 84 was a real trooper!!
We had a wonderful weekend. I'll bring my small picture album
to Portland so that you can witness the joy of the day.
I was able to round up about 10 of
our coworkers from 40 years ago to participate in the event.
It was a very enjoyable and memorable weekend.
I thought that you might enjoy this
narrative.
By the way, I have been blessed with
4 wonderful mentors in my career. Captain Jack was the first
one, Harry Reilich was the second. Both great leaders.
Love,
Kevin and Nancy
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="-----------------------------1089323161"
X-Mailer: 9.0 for Windows sub 5031
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Hello to all,
Nancy and I have just returned from
a Family gathering in Monterey, so as promised, here is a
report of the Fourth of July weekend.
For those in attendance, some parts
of this email will be a repeat. But for those who could not
make it, I hope this email gives you a flavor of what happened
on July 3 and July 4.
On Saturday, July 3, Lorraine and Harry
arrived in Danville in the afternoon and went to the local
Danville motel where they would spend the night. At the same
time, Dan Mohn arrived at our house, having driven down from
Twain Harte in his pick up truck towing a trailer, carrying
his fully restored 1941 Willys Jeep, Olive Drab in color.
It's a beautiful machine.
That evening, we went to a local restaurant
and had a nice dinner with Harry and Lorraine, Frank and Mardi
Linville, Dan Mohn and Nancy and myself.
Sunday morning July 4, we got Dan's
Jeep to the staging area at the parade "start".
Then we got Harry and Lorraine there. There was a little bit
of wait in the staging area but while waiting, people who
did not know any of us would approach the Jeep just to talk
with Harry.
When the parade got going, Harry would
wave to the spectators and the spectators would wave back
vigorously. Some people were calling out his name........"Harry".......
(there were signs on both sides of the jeep) "Harry Reilich
Survivor Bataan Death March".
Some spectators, obviously veterans
were saluting. Some would stand. Some would come out of the
crowd alongside the street to shake hands with Harry.
Harry kept on waving and occasionally,
with his two hands clasped, held them over his head.
It was truly a scene worthy of Harry's
accomplishments.
At the reviewing stand, the prepared
statement that was read is as follows:
"In 1942, Harry, in the United
States Army Air Force stationed in the
Philippines survived the Bataan Death March and over three
years
as a Prisoner of War. He returned after the war and in his
civilian life
was Resident Engineer for the State of California on construction
of
the new San Mateo-Hayward Bridge and then the new San Diego
Coronado Bridge. Harry then served 10 years as the Chief Engineer
Of the Golden Gate Bridge District. He is also an accomplished
private pilot."
Our local newspaper estimated the number
of spectators at the parade to be 45,000!!!
At the end of the parade route, Chuck
Eberhardt and I, who had been walking in the parade behind
the jeep, got into the back of the jeep alongside Harry and
Dan drove us the short distance to my house.
At that point, we assembled in our
back yard for lots of chatter, good times, stories from the
bridge job and some BBQ'd food.
In attendance were Chuck Eberhardt,
Steve and Gwen Ito, Roy and Patricia Michelini, Dan Mohn,
Jim and Rachel Randall, Bob and Margaret Settle, Glen and
Linda Siegel, and Nancy and myself.
Also, in the back yard on a table were
3 copies of Harry's manuscript,
"Our Days Were Years" so that people could take
a look at the work product that Harry and Lorraine had created.
I also had a single sheet of paper that showed how individuals
could get a copy for themselves off of the Internet. I learned
the Internet source from Dan Mohn and that is how I was able
to go to the Internet and have the 3 copies in the backyard
on July 4th.
And also during our time in the backyard,
Chuck Eberhardt made a presentation to Harry. It was a VHS
copy of 8mm film of the construction of the San Mateo-Hayward
Bridge that Chuck and Roy Anderson had shot during the construction
period.
A very nice gesture.
As with all nice things, there was
an end to the event. Folks departed but I think that everyone
had a nice little reunion to honor Harry, and the guests indicated
that that was accomplished.
In a separate email, I will assemble
the list of names addresses, phone numbers and email addresses
that I have gathered in the process of this event. I will
email it to all of you, later today.
Best regards,
Kevin
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